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Let Us Have A Peaceful Carnival

Law & Politics

by Lloyd Noel

As we come to the end of the first six months of our new Gov’t – in total control of the Nation’s affairs — our annual Carnival Celebrations are just a few days before the nineteenth, and it is hoped that the occasion goes off with all the fun and frolic, but peacefully.

Especially and very critically, the occasion must not be used to settle old political differences by any side against the other.

The buildup to the two days has been very low key thus far — and that has been so, because the Security forces have seen it fit to restrict the usual pre-Carnival jump-up so many days per week, to just one day at week-ends in Gouyave at least.

And a peaceful and incidents free atmosphere is particularly important at this time-as the ministers of Government have been all over the globe, meeting and negotiating with their foreign counterparts and business-men, to try and attract or convince investors to come and invest their millions in Grenada so as to provide the jobs for our many thousands of unemployed.

And no concessions of tax exemptions by Gov’t can be as important and attractive to Foreign Investors, as the knowledge and confidence that the people are very peaceful and law-abiding, and their properties will be safe and secure.

The task ahead to pay up some of the existing debts, so as to get further loans or credits to keep the various departments of Gov’t Functioning — in order to satisfy the needs of the people, and maybe hire some more public Servants to ease up the pressure many are undergoing — that task on its own cannot solve our problems.

The Gov’t has to do all within its power, to attract those investors to come to our shores and invest their millions — in businesses that will provide employment for our people, and in due course make profits on their investment to keep them here.

To achieve that goal it must be a joint venture between the controllers and the people- so as to build up the confidence and provide the required satisfaction to keep those investors in our islands.

How well those in Control are doing, on the whole question of building Confidence in possible Investors — only they can say — but I was hearing a Minister on a TV program a week or so ago, boasting that investors were lining up in readiness to come in and start up businesses.

The gist of the report was to point out, that Investors were interested in coming to Grenada for some time now-but they did not trust the NDC Controllers, so they stayed away yet maintained their interest.

And now there is a team in control that they can trust — under the leadership of Dr.Mitchell, who has the experience of long service in Gov’t — they are ready and eager to come a-shore.

It all sounded very positive and re-assuring — but as with most of the promises and programs, that were expected to come on stream in the first hundred days, after the clean-sweep victory of 19 February — we continue to wait and hope, and those in desperate need exist in great expectation.

From the many reports coming through the administration news channels — there are things happening in the various Gov’t Departments — it is that the end results are taking that much longer to show up, because in many cases not much was in the pipelines in the last two or more years of the pervious controllers in charge.

Of course that line of excuse cannot be tolerated in-definitely, and the new guys in control have to come up with much more positive results sooner than later.

Not that there is much those in dire need can do about the ongoing promises and the delay in producing results. During the campaign they all sounded very positive and reassuring, and the great majority fell for them as the old saying goes — lock, stock and barrel — so the waiting continues.

And as we come up to our national Carnival Festival, the scarce funds are also having adverse effects on the ability of the usual mas’ players to be involved in the mas’ bands. That state of affairs could very well mean that the turn out would not be as colorful as the good old days.

It is to be hoped, however, that no matter how ordinary the players may look on the days — they just play their mas’ and do not allow the political shortcomings to have any unbecoming or adverse effects on their behaviour, before or during the two days of jump up.

By all means enjoy the two days of fun in peace, but always remember there are three hundred and sixty-three or four days in the year until the next Carnival, and the daily routine of our lives must continue in the hope of better and more prosperous times ahead.

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